Rhodes Statue Beheaded in South African Anti-Colonialism Protest

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The decapitated bust of Cecil John Rhodes at the Rhodes Memorial in Cape Town.

Photographer: Rodger Bosch/APF via Getty Images

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A statue of a 19th-century imperialist that stands in a memorial park on the slopes of Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain has been decapitated, one of a series of attacks that have been mounted across several countries on symbols of colonial-era rule.

The statue of Cecil John Rhodes appeared to have been beheaded using an angle grinder, according to South African National Parks, which has filed a vandalism case with the police.